Giants’ Rotation Move Makes Sense

Greetings from the ballpark, where it’s feeling a lot like October. Steamy weather, swarms of media around manager Bruce Bochy, a ton of anticipation in the air. Judging from the tone of sports-talk radio today, you’d think the Giants were already in the playoffs, and that’s far from the case. If the Giants lose tonight and the Padres beat the Cubs, we’ll be right back in desperation mode. But here’s a bit of news — the Giants’ pitching rotation for this homestand:

Tonight: Jonathan Sanchez

Wednesday night: Tim Lincecum

Thursday afternoon: Madison Bumgarner

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Friday night vs. San Diego: Barry Zito

Saturday afternoon (time change; it’s now 1:10): Matt Cain

Sunday: Sanchez

As expected, Bochy pushed Lincecum ahead to Wednesday night to accomplish several things: It keeps him on his regular rest. It makes him available on full rest to pitch a possible tiebreaker game on Monday. And it would make him an easy choice for Game 1 of the Division Series if the Giants get there without having to play a tiebreaker. Lincecum could even come back on three days’ rest to face the Padres on Sunday, should it be a make-or-break game for the Giants, but Bochy hopes to avoid such a thing.

It’s a move without any real drawbacks, and if I were a fan, I wouldn’t have any anxiety about Barry Zito pitching the series opener against San Diego. Zito has plenty of playoff experience, and he has come up big, repeatedly. Should be a hell of a week.

3-DOTTING: Atlanta is staggering to the finish line in its attempt to be the National League wild card (a spot the Giants need to avoid, lest they play Philadelphia in the first round). Tim Hudson is working on three days’ rest tonight, with Derek Lowe scheduled to do the same tomorrow night, because two-fifths of the Braves’ rotation (Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor) has faltered down the stretch and Jair Jurrjens is battling a knee injury. Lowe is pitching with a bone chip in his elbow . . . Don’t let the game get in Billy Wagner‘s hands, though. The Braves’ closer is totally shutting people down, including Florida in the ninth tonight . . . Some really disturbing injuries threaten to tarnish the spectacle of the American League playoffs, notably Joe Mauer (knee), Josh Hamilton (ribs) and Evan Longoria (quad). It won’t be the same if any of those guys are missing . . . Interesting, though, that former A’s first baseman Dan Johnson is getting some playing time at third base with Longoria out. Johnson made his first major-league start there Saturday night, but he got plenty of experience at the position last year in Japan. “I think Japan might be the hardest place to play third, because you’re involved in every play,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if the score is 2-1 or 10-0, if the leadoff man gets on, they’re bunting. Or the little lefties are slapping it at you. And they’re trying to slap it by you because you have to play in every time.”

Smart move by old friend Bob Brenly, turning down a chance to interview for the Cubs’ managing job. Brenly would be an easy hire, right out of the Cubs’ broadcast booth (where he remains one of the best in the business), but there’s no point taking over a deeply flawed team with an almost incomprehensible history of failure. “If the situation was right, absolutely I’d like to manage,” he said. “But I don’t need to get back on the field just for the sake of being a big-league manager, and getting fired a year and a half into a three-year deal because a team sucked and the club didn’t want to spend any money.” . . .

Can’t think of a crazier move this off-season than the Phillies letting Jayson Werth escape on the free-agent market. I don’t care who his agent is (Scott Boras) or what hot young prospect is coming up in outfield (Domonic Brown); Werth is an absolute stud, a winner, symbolizing everything good about that exceptional team. Signing him to a long-term deal will be a weighty burden on their payroll, but the Phillies make a ton of money from attendance and postseason revenue. To be sure, they’ve survived some key departures in the past. They replaced Aaron Rowand with Shane Victorino, and they forgot about Pat Burrell once Raul Ibanez came to town. They lost Pedro Feliz and actually got better with Placido Polanco. Even the Cliff Lee deal — a monumentally dumb move by management — seems less disastrous with the acquisition of Roy Oswalt. But there’s something about Werth that, to me, makes him a special case. And he should realize what he’s got in that town. It sure sounded that way the other day, when he said, “it would seem like good business to keep this club together, continue to win, and create a dynasty-type situation. We play good together, we have great chemistry. This is an unbelievable place to come to work every day.”